AI prompts for accountants and bookkeepers

Write a document request message to my clients for [TAX RETURN / YEAR-END / AUDIT] season.

MY PRACTICE: [DESCRIBE]
CLIENT TYPE: [individuals / sole traders / small companies]
DOCUMENTS I NEED: [LIST]
DEADLINE: [DATE]
HOW TO SEND THEM: [portal / email / WhatsApp / in person]
CONSEQUENCE OF MISSING THE DEADLINE: [e.g. late filing risk, extra fee]

Produce:
1. THE MAIN MESSAGE - short intro, a checklist grouped by category, the deadline in bold, how to send, and who to contact
2. A SHORT VERSION for WhatsApp or SMS (under 60 words)
3. REMINDER 1 (two weeks before) and REMINDER 2 (three days before), each shorter and firmer
4. A "WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE IT" section explaining what to do if a document is missing

Tone: friendly and organised, never scolding. Plain words, no jargon.

Explain these financial statements to my client in plain language.

CLIENT: [WHO THEY ARE AND HOW FINANCIALLY CONFIDENT THEY ARE]
STATEMENTS (paste figures or a summary): [P&L / BALANCE SHEET / CASH FLOW]
PERIOD AND COMPARISON PERIOD: [PERIODS]
WHAT THEY ASKED OR WORRY ABOUT: [QUESTION]

Write:
1. THE HEADLINE - 3 sentences on how the business did, in everyday words
2. WHAT CHANGED AND WHY - the 3-5 biggest movements, each with the figure, the change, and the likely reason. If the reason is not in the data, write [ASK CLIENT: ...] rather than guessing.
3. CASH vs PROFIT - explain the difference using their own numbers if they differ
4. WATCH POINTS - up to 3 things to keep an eye on
5. QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS at our next meeting

Rules:
- Use only the numbers provided. Show any calculation you make.
- No jargon without a one-line explanation.
- Do not give tax, legal or investment advice - flag topics that need a proper professional review instead.

Build a month-end close checklist.

BUSINESS TYPE AND SIZE: [e.g. 20-person services firm, one accountant]
ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE: [e.g. QuickBooks, Xero, Tally, Excel]
WHAT WE DO NOW (messy is fine): [DESCRIBE THE CURRENT STEPS]
TEAM AND ROLES: [WHO DOES WHAT]
DEADLINE FOR CLOSING: [e.g. working day 5]

Produce a checklist table with columns:
Step | Task | Owner | Due (working day) | Depends on | Evidence of completion

Group the steps into: cash and bank, receivables, payables, payroll, accruals and prepayments, fixed assets, reconciliations, review, reporting.

Then add:
- THE CRITICAL PATH - the 5 steps that most often delay the close, and how to start them earlier
- CONTROLS - where a second person should review before moving on
- MISSING STEPS - things commonly forgotten in a business like mine that I did not mention; mark each [CONFIRM] because you do not know our policies

Rules: do not invent account codes, tax rules or local regulations. This is a process checklist, not accounting advice.

Write a payment chase.

CLIENT: [NAME/TYPE OF CLIENT]
INVOICE: [NUMBER, AMOUNT, ORIGINAL DUE DATE]
DAYS OVERDUE: [NUMBER]
PREVIOUS CHASES: [NONE / DATES AND WHAT WAS SAID]
RELATIONSHIP: [new client / long-standing / ending / we want more work from them]
OUR LEVERAGE: [e.g. work in progress we could pause, contractual late fees, nothing]
ANY REASON THEY MIGHT HAVE: [dispute, cashflow, process, unknown]

Write the message appropriate to this stage:
- Under 10 days overdue: assume process, not refusal
- 10-30 days: assume it needs a person, name one, ask for a date
- 30-60 days: state consequences plainly, once
- Over 60: formal, reference the contract term, state next step and date

The message must:
- Lead with the invoice number and amount in the first line
- Ask one specific question that can be answered in one line ('can you confirm the payment date?' not 'can you look into this?')
- Give them an easy out if the reason is process (wrong PO, wrong contact, missing detail)
- State the next step and when it happens
- Be under 120 words

No 'hope you are well', no 'just checking in', no exclamation marks, no apology for chasing.

Also give me the follow-up message for if this gets no reply in 7 days, and the point at which I should stop emailing and call.

Organise these expenses.

EXPENSES:
"""
[PASTE - DATE, DESCRIPTION, AMOUNT, ANY NOTES]
"""

PURPOSE: [expense claim / departmental review / client rebilling / tax preparation]
PERIOD: [DATES]
CURRENCY: [CURRENCY]
POLICY RULES I MUST FOLLOW: [PASTE, or 'none given']

Produce:

1. CATEGORISED TABLE - Date | Description | Category | Amount | Business purpose | Receipt? (Y/N/unknown) | Policy compliant? (Y/N/unclear)
   Use standard categories: travel, accommodation, subsistence, software, equipment, professional fees, training, marketing, other.

2. TOTALS - by category, and grand total. Show the arithmetic.

3. NEEDS ATTENTION - anything missing a receipt, missing a business purpose, above a policy threshold, personal-looking, duplicated, or dated outside the period.

4. MISSING INFORMATION - for each row where I have not given enough to categorise or justify it, the specific question to answer.

5. IF THIS IS FOR TAX OR A CLIENT REBILL - note which items commonly require additional substantiation, and what that is.

Rules:
- Never invent a business purpose. Write [PURPOSE NEEDED].
- Flag rather than exclude. The decision to drop a line is mine.
- Do not give tax advice. Flag items where the treatment depends on local rules and say an accountant should confirm.

Reconcile these two transaction lists and find the differences.

LIST A (e.g. our records):
"""
[PASTE]
"""

LIST B (e.g. bank statement):
"""
[PASTE]
"""

PERIOD: [DATES]
CURRENCY: [CURRENCY]
KNOWN TIMING DIFFERENCES: [e.g. payments take 3 days to clear]

Produce:

1. MATCHED - count and total value. Do not list them individually unless the count is under 20.

2. IN A NOT IN B - table with every field, plus a 'likely reason' column (timing, not yet cleared, duplicate in A, missing from B, cancelled).

3. IN B NOT IN A - same structure. Flag anything here as higher priority: money moved that we did not record.

4. PROBABLE MATCHES WITH DIFFERENCES - pairs that look like the same transaction with a different amount, date or reference. Show both rows side by side and the delta.

5. DUPLICATES - within either list.

6. RECONCILIATION SUMMARY - Total A, total B, difference, and the difference accounted for by each category above. These must add up. If they do not, say so explicitly rather than forcing them.

7. NEEDS A HUMAN - the items that cannot be resolved from this data alone.

Show the arithmetic in section 6. Do not round. If a date format is ambiguous (DD/MM vs MM/DD), say so and state which you assumed.

Compare these supplier quotes properly.

WHAT WE ARE BUYING: [DESCRIPTION]
QUOTES:
"""
[PASTE EACH QUOTE, SEPARATED BY ---]
"""
OUR REQUIREMENTS: [WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED]
EXPECTED USAGE/VOLUME: [DETAIL]
HOW LONG WE EXPECT TO USE IT: [TIMEFRAME]

Produce:

1. NORMALISATION TABLE - restate every quote on the same basis: same period, same unit, same inclusions. State every adjustment you made.

2. TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP over my stated timeframe - including setup, onboarding, training, per-unit or per-seat growth, support tiers, overage charges, renewal uplifts, and exit/migration costs. Mark anything not stated in a quote as [NOT STATED - ASK].

3. WHAT EACH ONE EXCLUDES - the gaps between each quote and my requirements list.

4. NOT COMPARABLE - things that differ in kind rather than price: support hours, SLAs, contract length, termination rights, data ownership, where the data is held.

5. THE QUESTIONS TO ASK EACH SUPPLIER before deciding - specific to what each quote left vague.

6. RANKING - on total cost, and separately on fit to requirements. Say plainly if the cheapest does not meet the requirements.

Rules:
- Never compare headline prices without normalising first.
- Renewal uplift and exit cost are the two most commonly omitted figures. Always flag them if not stated.
- Do not recommend a supplier on price alone.

Write a spreadsheet formula.

SOFTWARE: [Excel / Google Sheets / other] and VERSION: [if Excel, which version - it determines available functions]

MY DATA LAYOUT:
"""
[PASTE A FEW ROWS INCLUDING HEADERS, WITH COLUMN LETTERS]
"""

WHAT I WANT TO CALCULATE: [PLAIN DESCRIPTION]
WHERE THE FORMULA GOES: [CELL]
WILL I DRAG IT DOWN OR ACROSS: [yes/no, and which]

Produce:

1. THE FORMULA - with correct absolute and relative references for how I said I will fill it.

2. HOW IT WORKS - broken into its parts, inside out, in plain words.

3. WHAT IT ASSUMES about my data: no blanks, consistent types, sorted order, exact matches. Say which assumptions it relies on.

4. WHERE IT WILL BREAK - blank cells, text stored as numbers, trailing spaces, duplicate lookup values, inconsistent date formats, and merged cells. Say which apply to my data and how to guard against them.

5. THE ERROR HANDLING VERSION - wrapped so it returns something useful instead of #N/A or #DIV/0!, and say what it should return instead.

6. THE ALTERNATIVE - if there is a better function for this in my version (XLOOKUP over VLOOKUP, FILTER over array formulas, LET for readability), show it and say when each is preferable. Note if a function I might see suggested elsewhere is not available in my version.

7. A WORKED EXAMPLE - the formula applied to my sample rows, with the result, so I can verify it before trusting it.

Rules:
- Never use VLOOKUP with a column index number if XLOOKUP or INDEX/MATCH is available; column insertion silently breaks it.
- Avoid whole-column references in large sheets.
- If the task would be better done with a pivot table or Power Query than a formula, say so.

My spreadsheet is giving the wrong answer. Help me find why.

WHAT IT SHOULD SHOW: [EXPECTED RESULT]
WHAT IT SHOWS: [ACTUAL RESULT]
THE FORMULAS:
"""
[PASTE THE KEY FORMULAS WITH THEIR CELL REFERENCES]
"""
SAMPLE DATA:
"""
[PASTE SOME ROWS]
"""
SOFTWARE: [Excel / Sheets]

Work through the common causes in order:

1. THE RANGE - does the formula cover all the rows it should? Ranges that stop short after rows are added is the most common spreadsheet error by a wide margin. Check whether the range matches the data extent.

2. TEXT THAT LOOKS LIKE NUMBERS - SUM silently ignores text. A column with some numbers stored as text produces a total that is plausibly wrong rather than obviously wrong. Say how to check.

3. HIDDEN OR FILTERED ROWS - SUM includes them, SUBTOTAL may not. Which am I using, and is that what I want?

4. ABSOLUTE VS RELATIVE REFERENCES - dragged formulas where a reference should have been locked. Check every $ in the formulas I pasted.

5. LOOKUP PROBLEMS - approximate match instead of exact, trailing spaces preventing a match, case sensitivity, duplicate lookup values returning the first match only, and a lookup column that is not the leftmost.

6. DATE AND TIME - dates stored as text, two-digit year interpretation, time zone, and date arithmetic treating a date as a serial number unexpectedly.

7. ROUNDING - display rounding versus actual value. Numbers that look like they should add up but do not, because each is rounded for display only.

8. ORDER OF OPERATIONS - missing parentheses.

9. CIRCULAR OR STALE - a circular reference, or calculation set to manual so the sheet is showing old values. Worth checking early; it produces baffling symptoms.

For each: does it apply to my formulas? Quote the evidence.

Then: THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE, how to confirm it, and the fix. Plus the check to add so this error is visible if it recurs.

Help me build a 13-week cash flow forecast.

BUSINESS: [DESCRIBE]
OPENING CASH BALANCE: [AMOUNT]
REGULAR RECEIPTS: [CUSTOMERS, AMOUNTS, TIMING, PAYMENT TERMS]
REGULAR PAYMENTS: [PAYROLL, RENT, SUPPLIERS, LOANS, TAXES - AMOUNTS AND DATES]
ONE-OFF ITEMS: [LIST]
TOOL: [Excel / Google Sheets]

Produce:
1. THE LAYOUT - rows (receipts by type, payments by type, net flow, opening and closing balance) and 13 weekly columns
2. FORMULAS for my tool, with cell references explained
3. ASSUMPTIONS TAB - every assumption listed with where it is used
4. A WARNING LINE - conditional formatting when closing cash falls below [MINIMUM BALANCE]
5. HOW TO UPDATE IT WEEKLY - replace forecast with actuals and roll forward
6. The 3 levers if a shortfall appears (accelerate receipts, delay payments, short-term funding) with what to check for each

Rules: do not invent amounts; use [AMOUNT] placeholders for anything I did not give.

Extract data from this document.

DOCUMENT:
"""
[PASTE]
"""

DOCUMENT TYPE: [CONTRACT / INVOICE / REPORT / FORM / STATEMENT]
WHAT I NEED: [THE FIELDS]
OUTPUT FORMAT: [table / CSV / JSON]
WHAT THIS FEEDS INTO: [WHERE THE DATA GOES]

Extraction rules:
- Extract only what is stated. Never infer a value and present it as extracted.
- Preserve exact wording, numbers and units. Do not convert, round or normalise.
- Where a field appears more than once with different values, report both and flag the conflict.
- Where a value is ambiguous, extract it with a note explaining the ambiguity.
- Where a field is genuinely absent, write NOT STATED. Do not leave it blank, which is indistinguishable from an oversight.

Output:

1. THE EXTRACTED DATA in my requested format.

2. THE SOURCE QUOTE for each field - the phrase it came from, so I can verify without rereading the document. For anything financial, legal or date-related, this is mandatory.

3. EXTRACTION NOTES - anything that was not a clean extraction: ambiguous, conditional, conflicting, or stated in an unusual place.

4. THE CONDITIONAL VALUES - fields whose value depends on a condition stated elsewhere in the document. These are the most commonly mis-extracted, because the headline figure is not the operative one. Flag every instance.

5. NOT FOUND - fields I asked for that the document does not contain, and whether the document indicates they exist elsewhere.

6. CONFIDENCE - which fields were reliably extractable and which required judgement.

7. WHAT ELSE IS IN HERE that I did not ask for but that bears on the fields I did - a deadline attached to a figure, an exception to a term, a cross-reference to another document.

Accuracy over completeness. A NOT STATED is better than a plausible guess, particularly for anything that will be acted on.

Build me a small web tool as a single HTML file I can open in a browser.

WHAT IT SHOULD DO: [e.g. calculate loan repayments / convert units / split a bill / track daily water intake / estimate project cost]
INPUTS: [LIST THE FIELDS THE USER ENTERS]
OUTPUTS: [WHAT IT SHOULD SHOW]
FORMULA OR RULES (if I know them): [DETAILS, or "please suggest and explain"]
LOOK: [simple / colourful / dark mode], works on phones

Requirements:
- One file: HTML, CSS and JavaScript together, no external libraries or internet needed
- Clear labels, input validation (no negative numbers where that makes no sense), and helpful error messages
- Results update when I press a button (or live, if simple)
- Explain the formula in plain language under the tool
- Comments in the code so I can change things later

After the code:
1. Tell me how to save and open it (save as .html, double-click)
2. List 5 test inputs with the expected results so I can check it works correctly
3. Suggest 3 improvements I could ask for next

If a formula is financial, medical or legal, add a note that results are estimates and should be checked with a professional.